Supermarket Scanners-Scammers

[mixz1]

We went to the big Comercial Mexicana (the one next to Costco) to load up for the impending family arrival. My wife bought 2 personal care items that were marked at 27 pesos each.

That evening she was looking at Soriana's website and noticed the same item on sale. Out of curiosity she rooted around and found the register receipt from Comercial where she discovered that we had been charged 97 pesos each. We drove down there yesterday and checked. There were the same items on the shelf, still marked at 27 pesos and still being scanned at 97 pesos.

Getting the refund was no problem, but it turned out that it was almost impossible to purchase the item at the intended cost. There appeared to be no person in the store with the authority to override the scanner's programming. I offered to just leave 54 pesos and walk out but that was not to be. We couldn't leave with the items unless they were "registered".

We were escalated from the Servicio de Cliente desk to the floor assistant to the assistant manager to the grand gerente and chief poobah. Only after several phone calls to obtain the secret code and mystery handshake was the gerente actually able to punch in an alternate (correct) price. If time were really money, we should have just stayed home, but in the end it was fun watching the whole show.

The moral of the story is it doesn't matter how long the register receipt is, you have to check. From the reduction of the shelf stock I know that they moved lots of these items at 97 pesos and probably will continue to do so until someone can correct the database. Just because they're out to get me, it doesn't mean I'm paranoid .

[Naoautorizada]

Originally Posted by mixz1

Just because they're out to get me, it doesn't mean I'm paranoid .

Isn't it funny how those kinds of "mistakes" only seem to go one way - that is - in the favor of the store?

[RiverGirl]

I have seen the same problem going to the benefit of the buyer. I recently bought something at Soriana that was supposed to be $80 something pesos and it rang in at $18.

M - I think one of the biggest problems here is that the people at the bottom truly have no power. When I worked as a cashier in a supermarket, when I was 18, I had the power to give a refund, or run a price check and adjust the price of the item, I could do what it took to make the client happy. In fact my job description said I was there to serve the clients and keep them happy, among other things. But I don't think that most cashiers here are expected to keep the clients happy, and are not given the power to do so.

[Klaw]

Originally Posted by RiverGirl

I have seen the same problem going to the benefit of the buyer.

Me too....happens to me every now and then in the produce department.

[mixz1]

[quote="Naoautorizada"]

Isn't it funny how those kinds of "mistakes" only seem to go one way - that is - in the favor of the store?

Actually, several contemporary studies indicate that the most common error is undercharging. If you Google supermarket scanner errors you'll see what I mean. However, in this case looking at a numerical keypad you can't devine how a 9 replaced a 2 when they were doing the data entry for the scanner's database, but I don't think it was deliberate.

As for River Girl's situational analysis, it is a mirror of what my wife and I were discussing as the Chinese firedrill was taking place before our eyes. The lack of individual discretion here seems to by systemized so that it is impossible to find the one person of authority or responsibility in any situation.

I just returned from the post office where I picked up an envelope containing a CD that was mailed USPS special delivery on February 2nd. Today is March 28th. Did it languish on the floor of the post office in Mexcio City for almost 2 months, or did it lay under a bicycle in Cancun?

I asked to speak to whomever was the boss down there, with results similar to what I got at the supermarket. Some finger pointing and shoulder shrugging, but no real answer.

Fortunately I've lived here long enough to have lost my New York attitude, so annoyance has been converted to curiosity and patience. I guess I'll live longer that way.

[jenleib]

They probably just don't have enough profesionalism. It happened to me also at the Mega, an item announced at 156 pesos, and scanned at 3 hundred and something. That was worth it! I FINALLY got it at the first price.... and it broke 2 days later (it was a seat protector for my car).

Once at Walmart, I paid in US$, they were ... forgetting to give me 100 pesos on the change. Fortunately I realized, which is not always the case. You should ALWAYS be very careful. That mistake may be either way, but for the coins, it is only their way. If you count how many people show up everyday... it is a fortune for them.

Good luck with all the family, M

[Naoautorizada]

Two things come to mind repeatedly as I read of peoples' experiences in Cancun and that part of Mexico.

One is that operations and systems in general are sorely in need of attention.
(I wonder if it was like that here 50 years ago and we just didn't know or notice.)

[Which in addition is funny as I deal with C. Slim's organization all of the time, and given their prosperity, you would think them to be immune. No such luck, I'm afraid.]

The other is that no one is rushing to move back (in the case of expatriots) as a result of it. Clearly there is a strong underlying force, and I doubt that you got trapped there as people used to get trapped in Vegas, and no one there drinks the water, so there is clealy something more going on here than drugs or financial trickery.

[jenleib]

Yes, of course, there are strong things that ties up here: clear sea, white beaches, quality of life.... As they say, they don't have heart attacks , because they don't care.

I know I am much more patient than before (it is a good school) even though it is not always easy. If the toilet has a leak, it becomes an emergency after a week! Believe me, that helps me right now

I love my country. Actually I love every country I lived in (5), each one with a paradise side, and a hell side. The point is to know which side is stronger at a certain point of your life and what the circumstances make you choose. That doesn't prevent to complain, because the human nature would like everything perfect. :wink:

When I get stressed, I listen to the noise of the waves (I live on the beach), and I can breathe and relax.

[Elizabeth]

The other is that no one is rushing to move back (in the case of expatriots) as a result of it.

I know lots of people that have moved back to their home country. Their reasons vary.

Whether certain people stay, or people leave, in the end, it's a personal decision that can be influenced by many, many factors, and can't always be simply pinpointed to the water, or poor customer service.

[RiverGirl]

That's it! I've had it! I'm moving back so I can go to a yard sale and buy something that was once $50 usd for 50¢ usd!!! I'm sick and tired of paying too much for things I don't need anyway!

[Naoautorizada]

Maybe we ought to start a little import/export business for you guys (and gals) down there. You're right - why pay the big bucks for stuff there that you can get for near nothing here when there's UPS? Find what you want on eBay, Paypal the $$ to someone up here and let them send it to you down there.

Now I know that great ideas seldom come out of the clear blue quite like that, so what is it that I am I missing here?

[Klaw]

Originally Posted by Naoautorizada

Maybe we ought to start a little import/export business for you guys (and gals) down there. You're right - why pay the big bucks for stuff there that you can get for near nothing here when there's UPS? Find what you want on eBay, Paypal the $$ to someone up here and let them send it to you down there.

Now I know that great ideas seldom come out of the clear blue quite like that, so what is it that I am I missing here?

You're probably not factoring in tha fact that UPS is somewhat unreliable and Fed Ex is expensive. And even if you did choose to go with UPS, it is not exactly cheap either.

And you can't forget about the duty that has to be paid on the item at delivery.

It really seems like it should be such a good idea but by the time you add in the shipping costs and the duty it can cost as much or close to what it would have cost to just by it there in the first place.

[CancunCanuck]

And it takes all the fun out of poking through other people's "stuff", that's what a yard sale is all about. :wink:

[Naoautorizada]

Originally Posted by Klaw

And you can't forget about the duty that has to be paid on the item at delivery.

It really seems like it should be such a good idea but by the time you add in the shipping costs and the duty it can cost as much or close to what it would have cost to just by it there in the first place.

I haven't looked at shipping anything of my own to Mexico, but I know people that do, so the shipping problem can't be entirely unassailable (pricewise, although I can't really say anything about dependability) - and wasn't NAFTA supposed to beat the tariff thing? Plus, what we're shipping has a retail value of something near zero anyway.
Something tells me that there's probably more than one way around this problem.

Originally Posted by CancunCanuck

And it takes all the fun out of poking through other people's "stuff", that's what a yard sale is all about. :wink:

That - is a different problem.
Unless we pack and ship entire yard sales, you may have to be physically here for that. (....thinking.... how many complete yard sales might one pack into a standard size shipping container? ...Hmmmm Got to be at least a ten, twelve, probably more if it were all clothing and kitchen and no automotive. And we'll have to leave the sellers out of it too - OK to ship but too expensive to store)

Seriously though - if there are things that you guys find ridiculously expensive there when they shouldn't be, maybe we ought to put together a couple of test cases just to see what happens.

[MartinnVegas]

That's it! I've had it! I'm moving back so I can go to a yard sale and buy something that was once $50 usd for 50¢ usd!!! I'm sick and tired of paying too much for things I don't need anyway!

If you think of something you don't need let me know. I'll go to a few yard sales see if I can find it and either find a mule or mule it myself to you next time I'm there (Aug or Sept). You are too much of an asset to Cancun, I'd hate to see you leave.

The neighbor had a yard sale the other day, I almost bought a stuffed alligator for 2 bucks....l

[RiverGirl]

I was just kidding guys. But I do miss yard sales. I miss finding treasures for such a small amount of money. In Mexico if I can find something funky they want a lot of money. Nothing here goes to waste, which makes yard sales kind of useless.

A stuffed Alligator would be $200 usd here...

[Naoautorizada]

MartinV,
$200!
You better go back and get that stuffed alligator for $2 while you still can.
(Take it to Cancun with you on the next trip and let it pay for one side of your flight!)
;-)

[mixz1]

Originally Posted by Klaw

You're probably not factoring in tha fact that UPS is somewhat unreliable and Fed Ex is expensive. And even if you did choose to go with UPS, it is not exactly cheap either.

And you can't forget about the duty that has to be paid on the item at delivery.

It really seems like it should be such a good idea but by the time you add in the shipping costs and the duty it can cost as much or close to what it would have cost to just by it there in the first place.

And many, many eBay sellers will not ship to Mexico at all. Curiously, people selling on ebay sites in Europe have fewer reservations about shipping to Mexico and in some cases charge less to do so than American vendors.

[Naoautorizada]

Originally Posted by mixz1

And many, many eBay sellers will not ship to Mexico at all.

Think of it - a world without eBay - Clearly an underserved market.

All you need in or near the States is a consolidator, preferably located in a state that borders Mexico, or an expat that lives on the Mexican side - so that the cargo drives across rather than flies, and then ships internally.

For example, someone located San Diego and/or TJ - or any of the border maquiladoras (even better).

Anybody thus located and interested should probably apply here, eh?

[mixz1]

Originally Posted by Naoautorizada

Think of it - a world without eBay - Clearly an underserved market.

All you need in or near the States is a consolidator, preferably located in a state that borders Mexico, or an expat that lives on the Mexican side - so that the cargo drives across rather than flies, and then ships internally.

It's not that easy or simple. Here's an example. I just purchased a wheel for my car (another pothole victim). BMW in Cancun wanted 590 USD for the wheel. I found it in the States for 300 USD. The vendor would not ship to Mexico. I had it shipped to one of my sons who has a business in Florida. It cost 18 USD for UPS to ship it from Mass. to Fl. My son stripped the original paperwork and redeclared the value. It still cost 60 USD to ship to Mexico and bringing the wheel in over land instead of air did not obviate the impuestos. I'm still ahead, plus I got it quicker than the dealer could from Germany, but I'm not ahead by much. If there was a workable system for large packages it would already be in place.

The local mail consolidator on Av Xpuhil that I use for all my mail hit me for 80 USD when I mistakenly ordered 4 paperback books and a couple of CDs from Amazon delivered through that address. I haven't made that mistake again. She had me dead to rights because it was in the terms of service that I signed. I was able to bargain the fee down a bit, but it was still unreasonable.

And to hearken to another point Noautorizada raised; In spite of the complaining and costs, to me this is the best place in the world to live. I'm not even sure I want to change all of the things that are so "different" from what we gringos used to consider normal. It's better to adjust and just take notice and balance. Cancun always wins. I watch the sun rise over the ocean in the morning, swim in that ocean before breakfast and watch the sun set over the lagoon while sitting next to the pool in the evening. In between I mix with some of the most pleasant people I've ever met. I'm never in a hurry and my deadlines are my own. If there are some extra costs to live this way, it's fine by me.

[Naoautorizada]

Originally Posted by mixz1

In spite of the complaining and costs, to me this is the best place in the world to live. I'm not even sure I want to change all of the things that are so "different" from what we gringos used to consider normal. It's better to adjust and just take notice and balance. Cancun always wins. I watch the sun rise over the ocean in the morning, swim in that ocean before breakfast and watch the sun set over the lagoon while sitting next to the pool in the evening. In between I mix with some of the most pleasant people I've ever met. I'm never in a hurry and my deadlines are my own. If there are some extra costs to live this way, it's fine by me.

The next time I get a couple dozen minutes all at one sitting, I'm going to call a friend of mine who ships boxcar loads of steering wheels in and out of Mexico (somewhere near Mexico City) all day and find out what the secret is. I'll admit, he is constantly frustrated by the cultural differences that characterize (he would have probably said "plague") his business in Mexico, but his 'off the cuff' response to me on duty and such was it was relatively easy to circumnavigate now - which I currently interpret to mean 'compared to what it used to be'.

You know, someone is going to open that market up - whatever parts aren't already open. Hopefully that will be done in a way that will add to - and not spoil - what you've come to enjoy about living there. More to come I'm sure.

[RiverGirl]

I think Cancun is a great place to live if you don't need to make a living here, and you have enough money to live in a lovely part of town and you can afford to travel at will. But it's not an easy place to make a living, and it's expensive in many ways, and it's culturally and physically flat, and you can go stir crazy if you don't get out of here sometimes.

The happiest people I know here are those that have retired here.

But the people here are great, except for one or two (or 500) loony gringos on the run from the law, the people are great!

[Naoautorizada]

Originally Posted by RiverGirl

But it's not an easy place to make a living, and it's expensive in many ways, and it's culturally and physically flat, and you can go stir crazy if you don't get out of here sometimes.

Sort of funny in a way...
I lived in the Detroit area at one time and would describe it using almost exactly the same words. (Maybe today too - don't know)

[RiverGirl]

I would say that Cancun is better than Detroit in a second, just the weather saves us here, the weather here ROCKS, I love it, I hate being cold.

The Colorado/New Hampshire-bred girl who learned to drive on black ice and has slept in more than one snow cave, and has triggered an avalanche and once woke up drunk lying in a snowbank HATES being cold!!! Imagine that!

[MartinnVegas]

Originally Posted by Naoautorizada

MartinV,
$200!
You better go back and get that stuffed alligator for $2 while you still can.
(Take it to Cancun with you on the next trip and let it pay for one side of your flight!)
;-)

Thanks. I'm sweeping every yard sale this weekend. I'm going to buy every stuffed creature I can find. I'm determined to be the next stuffed thingy tycoon of Las Vegas. I'll be out of the managing-ladies-downtown business in no time. It's just too demanding and stressful.

Playa people, run for the hills....we're coming!

[RiverGirl]

Ain't got no hills here...

[mixz1]

Originally Posted by RiverGirl

I think Cancun is a great place to live if you don't need to make a living here, and you have enough money to live in a lovely part of town and you can afford to travel at will. But it's not an easy place to make a living, and it's expensive in many ways, and it's culturally and physically flat, and you can go stir crazy if you don't get out of here sometimes.

The happiest people I know here are those that have retired here.

But the people here are great, except for one or two (or 500) loony gringos on the run from the law, the people are great!

Guilty as charged. We retired here, and we retired well. We also regularly travel, more to Europe than to the States and get our cultural fillups there as well as using the Internet and to a much lesser extent, television. This year, our third, we intend to grab a bit more of the culture available here, venturing further than Chichen and Tulum, to some of the more remote Mayan sites. We also have only skimmed the surface of the underwater worlds available here.

I would hate to try and make a living here and I admire those who've managed to do so. Were I younger I might have a different outlook on that, but I am thankfully done with the need to work.

And.. the people here are wonderful, including some of the 500 or so loonies , but certianly not all.

[RiverGirl]

I'm eager to go to more Mayan ruins, I want to go over to Uxmal and down to Tikal. M- If you haven't gone to Ek Balam do that, it's not that far. And you'll love Merida, and that ruin just north of Merida is a good one, there's magic in the air there.